French and Riviera News Tuesday 21st January 2025

News

Monaco holds a minute’s silence for Minister of State Didier Guillaume - Monaco has held a minute’s silence to commemorate the minister of state Didier Guillaume’s service and legacy. The minute’s silence was observed across the Principality at 11am on Monday and here on Riviera Radio. For those wishing to pay tribute and honour his memory ahead of his funeral on Thursday at Monaco’s Cathedral a chapel of rest has been set up. Didier Guillaume, the Principality’s Minister of State passed away suddenly on Friday 17th January and has left a significant void within Monaco’s political and social circles.

Tax inspections for fraud in the Alpes Maritimes generated 210 million euros in 2023 – According to data published on Monday January 20th, tax inspections for fraud in the Alpes-Maritimes region generated 210 million euros in 2023. More than 7.5 billion euros in taxes are collected each year in the Alpes-Maritimes. Around half of the checks carried out by the tax were done so using IT tools capable of cross-referencing data, as well as AI.

Breaking 2019 Record - In 2024, Nice Airport surpassed pre-COVID passenger numbers, recording 14.8 million passengers compared to 14.5 million in 2019, despite slightly fewer flights. However, the ongoing Terminal 2 expansion, aimed at handling summer peaks, remains controversial due to environmental concerns. A new impact study projects limited effects despite increased traffic, but opposition from local associations persists.

The price of a packet of cigarettes to increase in France - If you haven’t already given up smoking as a new year’s resolution, now may be the time to do so, after France announced another sharp increase from February 1st for a packet of cigarettes. Some cigarettes will increase to 13 euros 50. A rise that follows very soon after the hike introduced at the start of the year. For those trying to give up France has a helpline 3989 or you can visit the government website. In Monaco you can call the helpline number +377.97.98.97.41

Paloma Beach not to reopen this summer - Spending a relaxing lunch in the sun on one of our region’s famous beaches in Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat will be a thing of the past, at least his summer season, as it’s been announced that the Paloma Beach will not reopen this year and its destruction is imminent. The establishment by law is set to be destroyed and rebuilt. The procedure is expected to be long and, the mayor has announced that it will not be able to reopen in 2025.

Road diversions in place in Fontvieille this Tuesday afternoon - Road diversions are to be set up and the public has been advised to use public transport in and around Monaco’s Fontvieille district later of today. The move comes as this evening will see Aston Villa visit the Principality to play AS Monaco in the Champions League. The match coincides with those attending the Gala Evening of the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo. Additional parking has been made available. The advice for those not attending either of the events is to avoid the area from 4pm. The football match will kick off at 6:45pm at Stade Louis II, while the circus gala is scheduled to begin at 8pm.

A8 Motorway Night Work – Meanwhile, night maintenance and construction on the A8 motorway in the Alpes-Maritimes this week will result in closures and detours at several interchanges. The entry and exit n 55 Nice Est will close every night until the 24th of January from 9pm to 5am. Vinci Autoroute recommends using the exit n 54 Nice Nord instead. The entry and exit ramps n 58 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin/Monaco Est in addition to the ramps n 59, Menton will close. So, Vinci Autoroutes recommends using the exit n 57 La Turbie, warning that delays may still occur.

Motorist caught speeding tells police he is late for grandfathers’ birthday – Finally, a motorist who was caught speeding at 202km/hr has told police he was "late" for his “grandfathers’ birthday celebrations”. The individual was stopped in his racing car on the A8 motorway in Saint-Maximin at around 6.30pm on Saturday. Police withdrew his driving license and vehicle.

Business

TikTok has been granted a 75-day extension by President Trump. The order will give the social platform 75 days to comply with a law that requires a sale or ban. The order was among a number of directives which Trump signed on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region gave up early gains after President Donald Trump said he is thinking of imposing new tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Shares opened higher after Trump pledged in his inaugural address to bring in a new "golden age" for America.

And Panama's president has rejected a plan by Donald Trump to "take back" the Panama Canal, telling his US counterpart the key trade route "is and will remain" in the country's hands. The Panama Canal is one of the US's most important trade routes, with about 40% of all the country's container ships passing through the waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

In other business news, the former boss of Marks and Spencer and Asda, Lord Rose has warned that working from home is creating a generation who are "not doing proper work". He told reporters that home working was part of the UK economy's "general decline" and employees' productivity was suffering. His comments come as some companies are calling time on remote working. Amazon, Boots and JP Morgan are just some of the businesses who now require their head office staff to be in every day. However, work-from-home expert Prof Nicholas Bloom said that while fully remote work can be "quite damaging" to some workers' productivity, spending three days out of five in the office was as productive as fully office-based work overall.

Sport

Football – In the Premier League Chelsea ended their five-game winless run on Monday evening beating Wolves 3-1 and the Champions League returns this evening with nine fixtures, including Monaco at home to Aston Villa and Liverpool are at home to Lille.

Meanwhile, reports have claimed that AS Monaco is considering a future with Marcus Rashford despite him still being keen to play for Manchester United.  Rashford hasn't played for United in nine games, having been axed for the Manchester derby victory last month over his performance in training. Monaco allegedly would be open to paying most, if not all, of Rashford's £315,000-a-week wage. 

Formula One – On his first official day at Ferrari Lewis Hamilton says he has "realised his dream". The seven-time world champion signed for Ferrari in January last year but contractual commitments to Mercedes prevented any move until the end of 2024.

Rugby Union – Scotland’s captain Sione Tuipulotu has been ruled out of the Six Nations due to an injury he picked up while training with Glasgow Warriors.

Monte-Carlo Rally – The teams of the WRC are getting ready for the official start from Casino Square this Thursday at 2.30pm with the shakedown in Gap taking place tomorrow Wednesday 22nd January for a map and where to watch go to www.rally-maps.com. Sébastien Ogier is the most successful driver in the history of the Monte Carlo Rally. He’s won it nine times and this Thursday will mark his 15th start. The Full English Breakfast Show spoke with Peter Thul WRC promoter for senior sports ahead of this year’s Monte-Carlo Rally.

Weather

Sunny spells with some scattered showers. Moderate winds by this afternoon. Highs of 14° in Nice, 13° in Monaco and Vence, drizzle with highs of 13° in Saint-Tropez and light winds. This evening going down to 8° and cloudy.

The outlook for tomorrow is heavy rain with moderate to strong winds. Highs of 13°. Thursday, sunny intervals a gentle breeze and highs of 15°.

Sunrise 07.57am

Sunset 05.26pm

Weather elsewhere

Palma 18° sunny.

New York -6 light cloud.

Athens 18° sunny.

Local ski report

Isola – 55cm of snow, 12out of 19 lifts are running, 27 out of 46 slopes are open. Sunny with more snow forecast tomorrow. Level 2 avalanche risk.  

Auron – 40cm of snow, 13 out of 16 lifts are running. 64 out of 135km of slopes are open. Sunny with more snow forecast tomorrow. Level 2 avalanche risk.

Valberg – 30cm of snow, 8 out of 23 lifts are running. 22 out of 90km of slopes are open. Sunny. Level 2 avalanche risk.

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French and Riviera News Tuesday 21st January 2025

Monaco has held a minute’s silence to commemorate the minister of state Didier Guillaume’s service and legacy. ... French and Riviera News Tuesday 21st January 2025 Read More

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